Collective group formal and informal groups. The concept and types of groups in organizations. Characteristics of an informal group

It is human nature to communicate with other people. In many cases, such communication is of a random, short-term nature. However, if two or more people spend enough time communicating with each other, they begin to become psychologically aware of what others think of them, what others expect of them. This forces people to change their behavior in a certain way, thereby confirming the existence of social relationships along group lines.

Each of us belongs to many groups at the same time (family, relatives, friends, work team, sports team, etc.).

A group is two or more persons who interact with each other in such a way that each person influences the others and at the same time is influenced by other persons.

An organization of any size is made up of some number of formal and informal groups.

Groups created by the will of management to organize a production, commercial or other process are called formal groups.

There are three main types of formal groups in an organization: management groups, working (production, task) groups, and committees (commissions, councils).

Command leader group consists of a manager and his immediate subordinates, who, in turn, can also be managers (the president of the company, his deputies, heads of departments, etc.).

Working (target group) usually consists of individuals working together on the same task. Although they have a common leader, these groups differ from the command group in that they have much more autonomy in planning and carrying out their work.

Committees are created to fill gaps in organizational structures to solve problems that are not within the competence of any of the departments, and to perform special functions. Distinguish between permanent and special (temporary) committees (for policy development, planning group, for handling employee complaints, for reviewing salaries, etc.).

The main functions of formal groups (collectives) are the performance of specific tasks and the achievement of certain goals.

The following factors affect the effectiveness of the formal group:

group size. As the group grows, communication between its members becomes more difficult, and it becomes more difficult to reach agreement on issues related to the activities of the group and the fulfillment of its tasks, the tendency to informally divide groups into subgroups increases (ideal group should consist of 3-9 people );

composition of the group. It is advisable for the group to be composed of dissimilar personalities, as this promises greater efficiency than if the members of the group had similar points of view;

group norms - designed to tell group members what behavior and what work is expected of them. Group norms include: pride in the organization; achievements of goals; profitability; collective work; planning; the control; professional training of personnel; innovations; relationship with the customer; protection of honesty, etc.;

cohesiveness is a measure of the attraction of group members to each other and to the group. Management can find opportunities to increase the positive effect of cohesion through periodic meetings, meetings to discuss current issues, new projects and priorities for the future. A potential negative consequence of a high degree of cohesion is group like-mindedness;

group consensus – it is a tendency to suppress the views of an individual on some phenomenon in order not to disturb the harmony of the group. As a result, the problem is solved with less efficiency, since all the necessary information and alternative solutions are not discussed and evaluated;

conflict. Although an active exchange of opinions is beneficial, it can also lead to intra-group disputes and other manifestations of open conflict, which are always harmful;

the status of group members can be determined by a number of factors (seniority in the job hierarchy, job title, office location, education, social talents, awareness and experience). Members of a group whose status is sufficiently high are able to exert more influence on the decision of the group than members of a group with a low status;

roles of group members. For a group to function effectively, its members must behave in a way that promotes its goals and social interaction. There are two main focus areas for creating a well-functioning group:

target roles imply the ability to select group tasks and perform them (initiating activities, searching for information, collecting opinions, providing information, expressing opinions, developing proposals, coordinating, generalizing);

supporting roles imply behavior that contributes to the maintenance and revitalization of the life and activities of the group (encouraging, ensuring participation, establishing criteria, diligence, expressing the feelings of the group). Most American managers are in target roles, while Japanese managers are in target and support roles.

The most effective group is the one whose size corresponds to its tasks, which includes people with dissimilar character traits, whose norms contribute to the achievement of the organization's goals and the creation of a team spirit, where there is a healthy level of conflict, good performance of both target and support roles, and where those who have high status group members do not dominate.

The effectiveness of the management of each formal group within an organization is critical to the achievement of the organization's goals.

informal groups- These are spontaneously arising groups of people who regularly interact to achieve some specific goal. Informal organizations have much in common with formal organizations. They have their own hierarchy, leaders, norms and tasks.

The difference lies in the fact that the formal organization is created according to a premeditated plan, while the informal one is, most likely, a spontaneous reaction to unsatisfactory individual needs.

The reasons for joining informal organizations are that belonging to informal groups can provide people with psychological benefits that are no less important than wages received: a sense of belonging, mutual assistance, mutual protection, close communication and mutual interest.

Informal organizations create a number of problems:

decrease in the efficiency of the enterprise;

spreading false rumors and resisting progressive change.

At the same time, if group norms are higher than officially established ones, informal organizations can bring benefits (commitment to the enterprise, high team spirit and higher labor productivity).

People usually know why they join formal organizations (common goals, rewards, prestige, etc.). People also have reasons for joining informal groups, but they are often unaware of them. The most important reasons for joining a group are: a sense of belonging, mutual assistance, protection of common interests, close communication (sympathy) and interest.

Each informal group has its own leader. In this case, his age, official position, professional competence, responsiveness, even the location of the workplace, etc., usually matter.

The process of development of informal organizations and the reasons why people join them contribute to the formation of characteristics in these organizations that make them both similar and different from formal organizations. It is important that leaders understand that informal groups interact with formal groups.

One of the biggest difficulties that hinder the effective management of informal groups is the initially low opinion of managers about them. Some managers believe that the very emergence of an informal organization is the result of poor management. But it's not. There are informal groups in any organization. This is as natural as the desire of friends to be friends, communicate, interact.

The following characteristics of informal organizations strongly influence the effectiveness of a formal organization:

social control - the establishment and strengthening of norms - group standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior (clothes, acceptable types of work, behavior). The social control exercised by the informal organization can influence and direct towards the achievement of the goals of the formal organization. It can also affect the opinion of leaders and the fairness of their decisions;

resistance to change - will arise whenever members of the group perceive change as a threat to the continued existence of their group as such, their common experience, satisfaction of social needs, common interests or positive emotions. Management can ease this resistance by allowing and encouraging subordinates to participate in decision making;

informal leaders have two primary functions: to help the group achieve its goals and to maintain and strengthen its existence. Sometimes these functions are performed by different people.

Some informal groups may be unproductive (spreading false rumors, holding back necessary production upgrades, etc.). Therefore, one of the biggest and most common difficulties that hinders the effective management of informal groups is the initially low opinion of their leaders. By failing to find ways to effectively engage with informal organizations, or by trying to suppress them, leaders often miss out on potential benefits. In any case, whether the informal organization is harmful or beneficial, it exists and must be reckoned with. Even if the leadership destroys some kind of informal group, another group will inevitably arise in its place, which may develop a deliberately negative attitude towards the leadership.

An informal organization can help a formal organization achieve its goals. To do this, leaders need to:

1. Recognize the existence of an informal organization, work with it and not threaten its existence;

2. Listen to the views of members and leaders of informal groups. Know who is the leader of the informal group and work with him, encouraging those who do not interfere, but contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organization; a leader is a person who is “followed” (who is consulted, listened to, considered) without regard to his position in the organization; the leader usually has a constructive influence, but there are also negative leaders (pushing to a decrease in labor productivity, etc.).

3. Before taking any action, it is necessary to calculate their possible negative impact on the informal organization;

4. Allow the informal group to participate in decision-making in order to weaken its resistance to change;

5. Give out accurate information quickly, thereby preventing the spread of rumors.

Thus, the manager's task, in this aspect, is not to fight informal groups, but to acquire the skills to manage them in order to skillfully direct the efforts of not only formal, but also informal groups to achieve the goals of the organization.

An organization is not only a formal structure (enterprise or institution), but also a social object - a means to achieve the goals of the owner, manager and staff. This means that in any organization a labor collective arises, in which very complex and diverse relations of workers among themselves, as well as workers with management, form informal groups, i.e. processes occur that seriously affect the efficiency of the organization, the results of its activities .

Under the group refers to two or more persons that influence and interact with each other. Groups can be both formal and informal.

formal group is created at the direction of the head and can be in the form of a department, workshop, brigade. The formal group is of two types: command and target. command group unites around the leader. This may be, for example, the board of directors or the board of the organization.

Target group united by a common goal; let's say, the work team of a shop is connected by a common task, work towards a single end result.

informal group arises without any indication, arbitrarily. This is an association of people in the process of human social (public) interaction, for example, according to interests (industrial and non-industrial), based on mutual sympathy, etc. These can be employees who constantly communicate at lunchtime in the dining room or rest room, those who gather together to celebrate a holiday or discuss urgent life problems, etc.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the management of an organization largely consists of the leadership of formal groups, each of which, in turn, needs internal management of all its members. For the management of formal groups, the organizational structure of an enterprise or institution, discussed in Chapter 5, is built, linear, functional, targeted management is built.

Experience in the development of Russian and foreign management gives grounds for some useful recommendations on the selection and organization of functioning formal groups.

1. Group selection principles (unifying qualities).

Team personnel must collectively:

- be purposeful;

- to be committed to the firm;

– understand and observe corporate interests;

- work for profit;

– be professionally trained;

- be able to innovate;

- be capable of teamwork;

- be organized;

- work according to plan;

- be able to keep records;

- exercise control and self-control;

– be obligatory and loyal to partners;

- be interested in consumers and customers;

– be vigilant to competitors;

– understand and comply with the ethical standards of business and management.

2. Group size.

The practical experience of management in recent years confirms the following empirical standards for the size of formal groups:

for production units of the lower level of management (brigades, artels) - 15–20 people;

for subdivisions of the middle-level management system (departments, bureaus) - 7-10 people;

for senior management bodies (council, board) - 1 person per 100 employees of the organization.

3. The degree of homogeneity of the group.

Social psychology and management practice argue that, as a rule, formal groups of heterogeneous composition (by gender, age, temperament, character traits, views, interests) turn out to be the most efficient.

4. Social roles in the group.

Social psychologists and practitioners argue that it is very useful to achieve the goals of the organization to have representatives of certain social roles in formal groups, for example:

"optimist" - a member of the group with a constantly good mood, believing in a brighter future;

"pessimist" - not disposed to bright expectations, waiting for all sorts of dirty tricks;

"truth seeker" - a person who believes in justice, ready and able to fight for it;

“old grumbler” - an elderly member of the group who can make a remark to a colleague in an inoffensive form that is more effective than a formal reprimand;

"unlucky" - a young worker whom older members of the group "educate" and take care of;

"a handsome young man or young woman" who evokes admiration and the desire of members of the opposite sex to earn their attention;

"brave" - ​​a person who is not afraid of obstacles and is ready to take risks;

"cautious" - reluctant to take risks and carefully consider the possible consequences of decisions;

"humorist" - having a developed sense of humor and able to defuse the situation with a good joke in a difficult moment, relieve tension in the team;

"innovator-inventor" - an opponent of routine, with a sense of the new, committed to scientific and technological progress;

"conservative" - ​​an opponent of drastic changes, preferring the proven old to the unknown new;

"fan" - a devoted and fierce supporter of a particular product of the enterprise, its corporate identity, traditions, etc.

5. unifying factors.

When forming a group, both internal and external factors that unite it should be taken into account and purposefully cultivated. Internal unifying factors include group interests (material and spiritual), informal ties (mutual sympathy, friendship), the possibility of obtaining help and support. External unifying factors are threats from society (crises, instability, the danger of extortion and terror), competition, the attitude of consumers and partners.

6. Separating factors.

These factors can also be of both external and internal origin. Internal - this is the antagonism of the members of the group, caused by differences in upbringing, education, habits, racial and national prejudices, rivalry on personal or official grounds, leading to conflicts. External - abrupt changes in the political, economic and social situation in the country and in the world, causing different (often opposite) reactions among group members; the intrigues of competitors seeking to damage the organization; changes in legislation that put team members in unequal conditions.

7. Degree of freedom of opinion.

When forming a group, it is necessary to determine the degree of freedom of expression and implementation of the opinions of all its members. There are two possible extremes here. The first is complete freedom of discussion, the equivalence of the opinions of all members of the group, the obligatory consideration of these opinions when making decisions. The second is that the freedom of discussion is limited; in the interests of the unanimity of the group, a part of its members, having a minority of votes, suppresses their opinion, which is different from the majority, which is not taken into account when making a decision.

Experience shows that the most productive is the optimal combination of both approaches. This takes into account the form of ownership of the organization (for example, in a cooperative, voting is carried out by a majority of votes of those present, and in a joint-stock company - by the number of shares); organizational and legal form (in state enterprises, the head is appointed, and in business companies - is elected); the nature of the tasks solved by the group (when making decisions in the scientific and technical sphere, it is appropriate to focus not on the majority of votes, but on the opinion of specialists; in the commercial one, it is natural to focus on those who have the largest capital).

The competence of the various decision-making groups, as well as the corresponding procedure, should be strictly regulated by the charter of the organization.

8. position of group members.

The position, organizational and legal status of each member of the group should be carefully considered and clearly defined. This status is characterized by the place of a group member in the hierarchy, the importance of the functions assigned to him, personal qualities (professional potential, organizational skills, authority in the team).

Along with the study and implementation of the possibilities of formal groups, it is equally important to work with informal groups. The due appreciation of this work is associated with the famous Hawthorne experiments.

The experiments were carried out near the city of Chicago (USA), at the Hawthorne enterprises owned by the Western Electric Company from 1927 to 1939. The results of the experiments were processed for ten years by a large group of scientists.

The purpose of the experiments, in the organization and analysis of which the head of the department of industrial research at Harvard University, psychologist Elton Mayo, known to us as the author of the theory of "human relations" in management, played a decisive role, was to study the influence of economic, psychological and organizational factors on labor productivity.

At the time of the beginning of the experiments, the situation at the enterprise was very difficult: poor economic situation, low labor productivity, staff turnover, etc. The leaders of the experiment, among whom there were initially no social psychologists, tried to explain the situation on plant by the influence of unfavorable production and physical factors: irrational organization of labor, insufficient lighting of workplaces, improper material incentives, etc. The experiment, however, did not confirm these assumptions.

With the beginning of participation in the experiment of social psychologists headed by E. Mayo, the main attention began to turn to the relationship of labor productivity with social and psychological factors. A group of six workers was singled out - assemblers of electrical appliances, each of which had to perform the same and monotonous operations. For the purity of the experiment, the group was placed in a separate room, the same moderate pace of work was set for everyone (no one had to overtake the other). Factors such as temperature, humidity and others did not change. And a miracle happened: in two and a half years, the group's productivity increased by 40%.

The analysis showed that the achieved effect is explained mainly by socio-psychological factors: over the years of close labor communication, an informal group has formed, a close-knit work team, in which the achievement of results has become a common cause. The workers put together their efforts, helped each other, and provided all possible mutual support. The emergence of a common interest has become a powerful factor in increasing labor productivity and the quality of work.

The Hawthorne experiments laid the foundation for socio-psychological methods of management (see Chapter 6), aroused interest in informal groups, in using their capabilities in order to increase the efficiency of the organization.

Consider some characteristic features modern informal groups.

1. Informal groups arise within the formal organization and are in it in constant communication. Consequently, the size and composition of informal groups are directly dependent on the corresponding parameters of formal structures.

2. The goals of informal groups are in principle not necessarily related to the goals of the formal organization within which these groups arise. However, it is almost always possible to link these goals, to make them interdependent.

3. Usually within a formal organization there is not one, but several informal ones.

Moreover, the same employees belonging to a single formal organization can simultaneously belong to several informal ones. The informal structure may extend beyond the formal organization.

4. An informal organization usually arises arbitrarily, without any instructions "from above". Her appearance and activities are of a free nature, participation in an informal group is completely voluntary.

5. Formal groups have much in common with informal ones. They have an organization (structure, connections), leaders, hierarchies, goals and objectives. In informal organizations, they adhere to certain established norms, unwritten rules of conduct, and there may be rewards and punishments.

6. The main differences in building a formal organization compared to an informal one are the following. A formal organization is created according to a premeditated plan, as a result of the so-called organizational design. An informal organization arises arbitrarily, spontaneously, as a rule, in order to satisfy certain social needs that are not satisfied within the framework of a formal organization. The creation of a formal organization is an act of will, the emergence of an informal one is the result of social interaction.

7. Despite the arbitrary, spontaneous process of formation of informal organizations, the non-directive, voluntary nature of their emergence, as a rule, there is an opportunity to "direct" a certain part of the team to the creation of an informal group acting in the interests of the organization.

In order to influence the process of creation and activities of informal groups, you need to have an understanding of the main motives personnel leading to their occurrence. Such motives are protection, mutual assistance, social contacts, communication, social manifestations.

The leading motive for the creation of informal groups is defense motive. We are talking about protection from an external threat to health (for example, due to poor working conditions, hazardous work), social protection (struggle for higher wages, pensions, better working conditions), legal protection (observance of the constitutional rights of citizens), etc. .

Closely related to the defense motive mutual aid motive. Members of a formal organization seek contacts with each other and create informal groups in the hope that together it will be easier for them to solve their problems - both personal, domestic, and industrial. A common interest in the results of joint work leads to the fact that employees begin to help each other in their work: to transfer useful experience, to join forces, to control themselves and subcontractors more strictly (this is exactly what happened in the Hawthorne experiments).

A formal group helps its members to establish much-needed social contacts. Members of the group begin to feel themselves part of a single whole, feel useful and necessary, are affirmed in their belonging to the necessary and prestigious business.

Finally, it is in the informal group that a favorable environment is created for the emergence, formation and implementation of such important for each individual social manifestations, as mutual sympathy, friendship and love.

Despite their informal status, informal groups are in the hands of a skilled manager a powerful tool for managing an organization, allowing better use of traditional management methods and more fully exercising their functions.

Let's look at some examples of using informal groups to improve enterprise management.

EXAMPLE 1. Help from informal leaders

Leaders of informal groups are a powerful managerial force. With their help, the manager can receive the information necessary for making decisions, explain to the staff the meaning of the tasks set, and motivate people to interested productive high-quality work.

EXAMPLE 2. public control

Members of informal groups are able to carry out much-needed organization independent control over the execution of decisions of the official leadership, spending money, and the quality of products.

FROST.Overcoming Conservative Tendencies

Often the staff of the enterprise, the "human factor" act as the main brake on the introduction of such important innovations in the organization today. Working with informal groups, the manager gets the opportunity in a favorable environment to explain the desirability of upcoming and produced innovations, to convince of the harmless nature of the changes being made, of their usefulness for staff and the organization.

In order to make the fullest use of the possibilities of informal groups for the purposes of formal organization, the manager must master the methods and art of managing them. As the main principles management should take into account the following:

1. It is unacceptable to directly transfer the management methods of formal organizations to the management of informal groups.

2. When managing informal groups, socio-psychological methods of management come to the fore, administrative methods are excluded.

3. Direct intervention of the manager in the formation and activities of informal groups is unacceptable. The impact on groups should be predominantly indirect and carried out by coordinating and regulating the processes taking place there.

4. Permanent links and interaction between formal and informal structures should be established; First of all, this concerns the setting and implementation of goals, objectives and incentives.

5. You should constantly identify opinion leaders and build constructive and mutually beneficial relationships with them.

6. Particular attention should be paid to the social problems that arise among members of informal organizations and a quick response to them.

7. It is necessary to provide and implement organizational, technical and economic support for all rational proposals and undertakings of informal groups.

8. The activities of informal groups should be constantly, but unobtrusively monitored.

9. It is advisable to establish an equal dialogue with informal groups, giving them the opportunity to fully present their proposals.

10. There should be a system for coordinating goals between informal and formal organizations and the corresponding coordination of efforts.

11. It is necessary to establish a two-way information link between formal and informal organizations both in terms of obtaining and transmitting the necessary information.

12. All relations between formal and informal organizations should be based on the principles of voluntariness, goodwill and mutual interest.

In the recent past, competition was concentrated in the field of technological progress, but the essence of modern business determined primarily by people. Each employee of the company performs his function and combines his efforts with the collective to achieve results. A key component of the business is personnel management.

The management of the organization is satisfied when the organization continues to exist as a whole. However, almost always the stereotypes of behavior and attitudes of members of the organization deviate far from the formal plan of the leaders of the organization.

Informal groups that form in an organization can, under certain conditions, become dominant.

Middle managers need to reconcile the demands of the organization's informal groups with the demands of the top management. This need encourages managers to look for non-standard methods of managing people or use existing techniques more effectively to capture the potential benefits and reduce the negative impact of informal groups.

Formal and informal groups

So, there are two types of groups: formal and informal. These types of groups matter to the organization and have a great impact on the members of the organization.

Formal groups- These are groups created by the will of the leadership.

Allocate groups of leaders, working (target) groups and committees.

• Leadership Group consists of the head and his immediate subordinates who are in the zone of his control (the president and vice presidents).
• Working(target) group - employees working on a single task.
• The committee- a group within an organization that has been delegated authority to perform a task or set of tasks. Sometimes committees are called councils, commissions, task forces. Allocate permanent and special committees.

informal group A spontaneously formed group of people who interact regularly to achieve a specific goal. The reasons for joining are a sense of belonging, help, protection, communication.

Informal organizations exercise for their members. There are usually certain norms that each member of the group must comply with. In informal organizations, there is a tendency to resist change. Usually an informal organization is led by an informal leader. The informal leader should help the group achieve its goals and keep it alive.

On the performance of formal and informal groups are influenced by the same factors.

1. Group size. As the group grows, communication between members becomes more difficult. In addition, informal groups with their own goals may arise within the group. In small groups (of 2-3 people), people feel personally responsible for making a certain decision. It is believed that the optimal group size is 5-11 people.
2. Compound(or the degree of similarity of personalities, points of view, approaches). It is believed that the most optimal decision can be made by groups consisting of people who are in different positions (i.e., dissimilar people).
3. Group norms. A person who wants to be accepted by a group must comply with certain group norms. (Positive norms are norms that support goal-oriented behavior. Negative norms are norms that encourage behavior that is not conducive to achieving goals, such as stealing, being late, absenteeism, drinking at work, etc.).
4. Cohesion. It is considered as a measure of the attraction of group members to each other and to the group. A high level of group cohesion can improve the performance of the entire organization.
5. group consensus. This is the tendency of an individual to suppress his views on some phenomenon in order not to disturb the harmony of the group.
6. Conflict. Differences in opinion increase the likelihood of conflict. The consequences of the conflict can be positive, as they allow you to identify different points of view (this leads to an increase in the effectiveness of the group). The negative consequences are to reduce the effectiveness of the group: a bad state of mind, a low degree of cooperation, a shift in emphasis (giving more attention to one's "winning" in the conflict, rather than solving the real problem).
7. Status of group members. It is determined by seniority in the job hierarchy, job title, education, experience, awareness, etc. Usually, members of a group with a high status have a greater influence on other members of the group. It is desirable that the opinion of high-status group members is not dominant in the group.

Formal groups usually stand out as structural units in an organization. They have a formally appointed leader, a formally defined structure of roles, positions and positions within the company, as well as formally assigned functions and tasks.

A formal group has the following features:

1. it is rational, i.e. it is based on the principle of expediency, conscious movement towards a known goal;
2. it is impersonal, i.e. It is designed for individuals, relations between which are established according to a compiled program.

In a formal group, only official connections between individuals are provided, and it is subject only to functional goals.

The formal groups are:

• Vertical organization, which unites a number of bodies and a subdivision in such a way that each of them is located between the other two - higher and lower, and the leadership of each of the bodies and subdivisions is concentrated in one person.
• Functional organization, according to which management is distributed among a number of persons specializing in the performance of certain functions and works.
• Headquarters organization, characterized by the presence of a staff of advisers, experts, assistants who are not included in the vertical organization system.

Formal groups may be formed to perform a regular function, such as accounting, or they may be created to solve a specific task, such as a commission for the development of a project.

informal groups are created not by orders of the leadership of the organization and formal regulations, but by members of this organization in accordance with their mutual sympathies, common interests, identical hobbies and habits. These groups exist in all companies, although they are not represented in the diagrams that reflect the structure of the organization, its structure.

Informal groups usually have their own unwritten rules and norms of behavior, people know well who is in their informal group and who is not. In informal groups, a certain distribution of roles and positions is formed. Usually these groups have an explicit or implicit leader. In many cases, informal groups can exert equal or even greater influence over their members than formal structures.

Informal groups are a spontaneously (spontaneously) established system of social ties, norms, actions that are the product of more or less long-term interpersonal communication.

Depending on the style of behavior, informal groups can be classified as follows:

• Prosocial, i.e. socially positive groups. These are socio-political clubs of international friendship, social initiative funds, groups for environmental protection and the rescue of cultural monuments, club amateur associations, etc. They, as a rule, have a positive orientation.
• Asocial, i.e. groups standing apart from social problems.
• antisocial. These groups are the most disadvantaged part of society, causing him anxiety. On the one hand, moral deafness, inability to understand others, a different point of view, on the other hand, often their own pain and suffering, which befell this category of people, contribute to the development of extreme views among its individual representatives.

Characteristics of an informal group

The life of the group, its functioning is influenced by three factors:

1. characteristics of group members;
2. structural characteristics of the group;
3. situational features.

To characteristics of group members factors that influence its functioning include personal characteristics of a person, as well as abilities, education and life experience.

Structural characteristics of the group include:

• communication in the group and norms of behavior (who communicates with whom and how);
• status and roles (who occupies what position in the group and what they do);
• personal likes and dislikes between group members (who likes whom and who dislikes whom);
• strength and conformity (who influences whom, who is ready to listen and who to obey).

The first two structural characteristics relate more to the analysis of formal organization, the rest to the question of informal groups.

There are several factors that influence the establishment of friendly relations between people:

1. Personal characteristics of interacting. People love those who like the same phenomena, things, processes that they like, i.e. people love those who are similar to them, who are close to them in spirit, taste and preferences. People are attracted to those who have the same or close race, nationality, education, system of views on life, and so on. Potentially, people with similar personality characteristics are more likely to form friendships than those with significantly different personality characteristics.
2. The presence of territorial proximity in the location of these people. The closer the workplaces of group members are, the higher the likelihood that they will establish friendly relations. The same applies to the proximity of their places of residence.
3. Meeting frequency, as well as the expectation that these meetings will occur often enough in the future.
4. How successful is the group. In general, success leads to the development of positive attitudes among people towards each other to a greater extent than the unsuccessful functioning of the group.
5. Having one goal, to which the actions of all members of the group are subject. If group members are separated by solving individual problems, mutual sympathy and friendliness develop less often than if they work on solving a common problem for all.
6. Broad participation of all group members in decision making. The opportunity to influence group-wide processes stimulates the development of a positive perception of the team among group members.

The presence of sympathy in relations between people, the presence of friendly relations between members of the group has a huge impact on the mood of people, on their satisfaction with their work, their membership in the group. However, it cannot be unequivocally said that friendly relations between group members have only a positive impact on the results of work and the functioning of the organization as a whole. If people who have friendly relations with each other have a high motivation for work, then the presence of mutual sympathy and friendship contributes to a significant increase in the results of their work and thus positively affects the functioning of the group as a whole. If people are poorly motivated to work, then the result will be completely opposite. They will spend a lot of time in useless conversations, smoke breaks, tea parties, etc., constantly distracted from work, sharply reducing the effectiveness of their work. At the same time, they can distract others from the work, creating an atmosphere of idleness and relaxation.

Situational characteristics of the group little depend on the behavior of the members of the group and the group as a whole. These characteristics are related to its size and its spatial arrangement.

In small groups, it is more difficult to reach agreement, and a lot of time is spent on clarifying relationships and points of view. Finding information is difficult in large groups, as group members tend to be more reserved.

The spatial arrangement of group members has a noticeable effect on their behavior. There are three important characteristics of the spatial arrangement of the individual, on which the relationship between the individual and the group depends. First, it is the presence of a permanent or definite place or territory. The lack of clarity in this matter gives rise to many problems and conflicts in interpersonal relationships. Secondly, this is a personal space, that is, the space in which the body of only this person is located. Spatial proximity in the placement of people can give rise to many problems. Thirdly, this is the mutual arrangement of places. If a person takes a workplace at the head of the table, then this in the eyes of other members of the group automatically puts him in a leadership position. Management, knowing these and other questions of the location of group members, can achieve a significant effect only through the correct placement of jobs.

Features of informal groups

1. Social control

Informal organizations exercise social control over their members. The first step towards this is the establishment and strengthening of norms - group standards of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. In order to be accepted by the group and maintain its position in it, a person must comply with these norms. To reinforce compliance with these norms, the group can impose fairly severe sanctions, and those who violate them can face exclusion. It is a powerful and effective punishment when a person depends on an informal organization to meet their social needs.

2. Resistance to change

People use the informal organization to discuss anticipated or actual changes that may occur in their organization. In informal organizations, there is a tendency to resist change. This is partly due to the fact that change can pose a threat to the continued existence of an informal organization. Reorganization, introduction of new technology, expansion of production and, consequently, the emergence of a large group of new employees can lead to the disintegration of an informal group or to a reduction in opportunities for interaction and satisfaction of social needs.

3. Informal leaders

Informal organizations, as well as formal ones, have their own leaders. The informal leader acquires his position by seeking power and applying it to the members of the group. Essentially, there are no major differences in the means used by the leaders of formal and informal organizations to exert influence. The only significant difference is that the informal leader makes a reliance on the recognition of his group. In his actions, he relies on people and their relationships.

The informal leader has two primary: help the group achieve its goals and maintain and strengthen its existence. Sometimes these functions are performed by different people. If this is the case, then two leaders emerge in the informal group: one for fulfilling the group's goals, the other for social interaction.

The emergence of an informal group and its role in the process of functioning of the organization

The reason for the emergence of an informal group in a formal organization is the inevitable limitations of a formal organization, which cannot cover and regulate all the processes of functioning of a social organization.

If people join formal organizations to further the goals of the organization, or they need income rewards, or they are driven by considerations of prestige, then belonging to an informal group can provide psychological benefits as important to them as the salary they receive.

In accordance with A.'s classification, the primary needs are physiological and the need for safety and security, and the secondary ones are social, respect and self-expression. Can a formal organization ensure that all needs are fully met? Obviously not. The emergence of an informal organization is a consequence of a person's natural desire to unite with other people, to form sustainable forms of interaction.

The very first reason for joining an informal group is satisfying the need for a sense of belonging. People whose work does not provide the opportunity to establish and maintain social contacts tend to be dissatisfied. The ability to belong to a support group is closely related to employee satisfaction. And yet, despite the fact that the need for belonging is widely recognized, most formal organizations deliberately deprive people of social contacts. Therefore, people are often forced to turn to informal organizations in order to gain these contacts.

Need for protection is an important reason why people join certain groups. Although it is very rare these days to talk about the existence of real physical danger in the workplace, the very first trade unions originated in social groups that met in pubs and discussed their grievances with superiors. Even today, members of informal organizations protect each other from harmful rules. This protective function becomes even more important when the authorities are not trusted.

The need for communication arises because people want to know what is happening around them, especially if it affects their work. And yet, in many formal organizations, the system of internal contacts is rather weak, and sometimes management deliberately hides certain information from their subordinates. Therefore, one of the important reasons for belonging to an informal organization is access to an informal channel for receiving information - rumors. This can satisfy the individual's needs for psychological protection and belonging, and provide him with faster access to the information he needs to work.

Influence of informal groups on the organization

Some leaders believe that the informal group is the result of poor management, but the emergence of these groups is natural and very common; they are in every organization.

Informal groups carry both negative and positive influence on the activities of a formal organization. False rumors can spread through informal channels, leading to negative attitudes towards management. The norms adopted by the group can lead to the fact that the productivity of the organization will be lower than that determined by the management. A tendency to resist change and a tendency to perpetuate ingrained stereotypes may delay the necessary modernization of production. However, this counterproductive behavior is often a reaction to the attitude of superiors towards this group. Right or wrong, the members of the group feel that they are being treated unfairly and respond in the same way that any person would respond to something that seems unfair to him.

Such instances of backlash sometimes make it difficult for leaders to see the many potential benefits of informal organizations. Since in order to be a member of a group, one must work in the organization, loyalty to the group can translate into loyalty to the organization. Many people turn down higher-paying positions at other companies because they don't want to disrupt the social bonds they have made at that company. The goals of the group may coincide with those of the formal organization, and the performance standards of the informal organization may exceed those of the formal organization. For example, the strong team spirit that characterizes some organizations and generates a strong desire for success often grows out of informal relationships, involuntary actions of management. Even informal communication channels can sometimes help a formal organization by complementing the formal communication system. By failing to find ways to effectively engage with informal organizations, or by trying to suppress them, leaders often miss out on these potential benefits.

In any case, whether the informal organization is harmful or beneficial, it exists and must be reckoned with. Even if the leadership destroys some group, another group will certainly arise in its place, which, perhaps, will develop a deliberately negative attitude towards the leadership.

Formal organizations

There are two types of organizations:

First of all, organizations that are created consciously and purposefully to achieve some predetermined goals, within which conditions are formed and maintained to encourage their members to achieve these goals. Leaders are the carriers of such goals., which perceive these goals as their own and to achieve them, they coordinate the activities of the members of the organization;

Secondly, organizations that form spontaneously on the basis of the natural commonality of the goals of their participants, participation in which is determined by the free will of their members. In these organizations, no one makes an effort to secure the emerging structure and ensure the achievement of their own goals. As the common goals that caused the emergence of the organization are achieved, they can disintegrate, but they can also be reborn into organizations of the first type.

Organizations of the first type are called formal. According to one of the classics of modern management, Herbert Simon, formal organization we understand the planned system of joint (cooperative) efforts, in which each participant has his own clearly defined role, his own tasks or responsibilities that must be performed. These responsibilities are distributed among the participants in the name of achieving the goals that the organization sets for itself, and not in the name of satisfying individual wishes, even if the two often coincide.

formal organization- an organization that has the right, the goals of which are enshrined in the constituent documents, and the functioning - in the regulations, agreements and provisions governing the rights and responsibilities of each of the participants in the organization.

Formal organizations are subdivided into and .

Finally, another formulation that reflects well the specifics of formal organizations says that this is a formal association of people that was formed to ensure the achievement of common goals on a relatively permanent basis (Figure 3.2). This association is characterized by obvious boundaries, norms of behavior, the presence of primary (interpersonal, informal) groups, communication channels, activities aimed at solving certain problems and power relations.

Informal organizations

Informal organizations- These are organizations that are not registered with a state body, either due to their small number, or for some other reason.

informal organization- a spontaneously emerging group of people who interact with each other quite regularly.

Informal organizations are associations of people connected by personal interests in the field of culture, life, sports etc., having a leader and not conducting financial and economic activities aimed at obtaining material profit.

For example, four amateur fishermen constantly for a number of years jointly prepare tackle, go fishing, discuss the results, and enjoy it. This is an informal organization, since all the signs of the system are present - the presence of a goal, elements, hierarchy, interaction. Role in informal organizations very large. In them, people can realize their needs and interests to a greater extent than in a formal one; find your place in life; try different behaviors, relationships, etc. Help and protection of colleagues, access to informal channels of information (rumors, etc.) are the main reasons for joining an informal organization.

However the emergence of an informal organization within a formal. This is a natural process that occurs when the development of technology, the professionalism of personnel in an organization is faster than the improvement of organizational forms, functions, style and management methods. The first sign of the birth of an informal organization in the subject area of ​​a formal organization is emergence of an informal leader. As it is necessary to act as a leader, we have already considered above.

In any team there are several groups of like-minded people, which in the language of psychologists are called informal groups.

Why do informal groups arise?

In the labor collective there are leaders and subordinates, whose activities are regulated by orders and orders. On paper, everything is simple: duties and responsibilities are defined, you just need to fulfill what is written. But in reality, personality traits are little taken into account when appointing to a position. Experience, past merits, natural data, preferences are also partially ignored.

Therefore, people huddle in “flocks” to satisfy their urgent needs.

An informal group is a kind of interest club in which people get what they cannot get with another way of communication.

What do people look for in an informal group?

The need for recognition is basic, a person must be needed by someone. It doesn’t matter what exactly a person can do better than others: dance, knit, cook, fix a car or fish. It is important that people you know turn to him for advice and help. A pleasant social circle is easily formed around a person who has some useful skill.

An informal group is, in fact, a recognition of a person's talents.

Ideally, a person should do what he loves in life. But it doesn't always work out that way. People engaged in routine work - on the assembly line, for example - would very quickly lose their psychological stability if they did not have the opportunity to discuss burning news during mechanically repetitive actions.

Mutual help

This is another important sign of a formed microsocial group. An informal group is a community in which people support each other by definition.

A good microclimate at work most often occurs between people with approximately equal experience and knowledge. Someone knows the intricacies of work better, someone worse. Ideally, the leader should know and understand the content of the work assignment best of all. But not all managers meet this criterion, and not everyone knows how to create an atmosphere of openness. Therefore, employees often prefer to clarify difficult issues together than to address the issue to the manager.

Sometimes a good working relationship turns into a real long-term friendship.

Mutual protection

A well-coordinated team is both a help and a problem for the management. Such a team can be entrusted with a task of any complexity, and it will be successfully completed. But to infringe on the rights of workers does not work. An informal group is a very stable entity that can defend its rights. It is impossible to reduce the zone of influence of the formed team or try to cheat when paying for labor, since the actions of the administration instantly stumble upon fierce opposition.

In protecting their interests, informal groups are much more effective than trade unions. Members of the informal group are clearly aware that "one for all and all for one" is the best way to survive in difficult conditions.

Rumors and gossip

This phenomenon is most often generated by inept or clumsy actions of the administration, when the true state of affairs or the motives for official movements are not voiced, but hidden. People of any kind do not want to feel like a wordless controlled herd.

In cases where there is no normal awareness of the processes taking place at the enterprise, informal channels of information - rumors and gossip - become in demand. These social phenomena fill an information vacuum, which ideally should not exist.

The new leader always creates around him the informal groups he needs. Examples can be seen in every major organization.

General ideology

Interest groups are formed not only at work. By and large, each person is part of some such group. These are neighbors, a company of fishermen or hunters, knitters, fans of garage fees, fans and fans, even regulars of a beer bar.

Researchers call informal groups small, since their number usually does not exceed 15 people, occasionally this number reaches 30. But more often there are groups that do not exceed 7.

In the adolescent environment, informal groups are more common than others. Examples can be seen in any courtyard of a multi-storey building. Teenagers crave self-affirmation, sometimes they even need outward signs of belonging to the community. It can be a piece of clothing, a tattoo, a headscarf or a bandana, special ways of greeting.

Teenage groups can be dangerous if they are led by a teenager with criminal tendencies. Such groups are always based on physical force, reprisals are applied to objectionable ones.

Types of informal groups

• Club for communication - a huge number of them can be found on social networks.
• Study groups - classes, studios and the like.
• Fan club - fans of one creative person or ensemble, football, hockey or other sports team.
• The group for action is most often informal groups in the organization: individual employees of the accounting department, the production team.
• The reactive group is the opposition, opponents of the new boss, adherents of conservatism, and the like.

Control within the group

An informal social group is good because it sets its own "rules of the game". This does not require any orders or special efforts. It's simple: a person can become a member of the group only if he meets certain internal criteria.

For example, a fan of another team will never be able to get into the fan group of St. Petersburg "Zenith", since they face diametrically opposed tasks. At the same time, there are no taboo topics for “their own”, the details of the life, successes and failures of the players are discussed in detail. If a member of the group shows disrespect or ignorance towards the team, then after a series of warnings, he is expelled. So the group adjusts its composition.

Informal group structure

This question has been carefully studied by psychologists. In different structures, the structure turned out to be approximately the same. The distribution of group roles looks like this:

• A leader is a person with inner strength, engaged in motivation and sanctions, using the “carrot and stick”.
• "Analyst" - able to think strategically.
• A "skeptic" or a representative of the internal opposition is required to confirm or refute the viability of ideas.
• "Diplomat" - the most humane member of the group, takes into account the interests of all.
• "Entertainer" - provides interesting leisure.
• "Buffoon or jester" - has a bright sense of humor, supports self-irony.
• "Scapegoat" - is appointed guilty for the failure of the undertaking. Necessary for the whole group to function in the future.

An informal group of people always arises on the basis of constant communication, when people communicate with each other daily or with an interval of 1-3 days.

Relations between formal and informal groups

Informal groups always arise - both in the most progressive and problematic organizations, countries or collectives. All people are different, and everyone needs to find a kindred spirit in their surroundings.

A good leader or teacher understands that the formation of small social groups is a natural phenomenon, and one can only interact with such a group. An attempt to ignore or ban such a group is doomed to failure in advance.

One of the characteristics of informal groups is resistance to innovation and change. Any relocation or new technology poses a potential threat to the very existence of the group, as it reformats employees - some may be promoted, while others may be fired. It is not always possible to find a reasonable compromise between the demand for progress and the interests of the group.

What is the purpose of informal groups?

The main goals of an informal group are the comfortable existence of its members. Communication with your own kind significantly reduces the level of stress, helps to relieve internal tension, gives people the opportunity to feel their relevance.

Large groups arise where management uses the natural need of a member of the labor collective - to be involved in the result of collective activity. If the leadership uses only punishment, then we should expect the formation of real resistance.

The formation of informal groups occurs at an accelerated pace in closed groups - in the army, on long-distance ships and in places of deprivation of liberty, where people of different life experiences and social levels are forced to communicate with each other around the clock.

Progressive employers pay great attention to a healthy atmosphere in the team. To do this, testing of potential employees is carried out, people with a healthy stable psyche are selected.

What is the life span of an informal group?

Researchers claim that no more than 4 years. A productive group is considered to be no more than 2 years old. Small groups arise spontaneously, sympathy, age, common interests play a decisive role. It is somehow impossible to regulate the emergence of small social groups.

The main catch lies in the conflicting goals of the group members. People create temporary alliances, often "friends against" a specific person. However, moving up the ranks, praise or punishment can fundamentally change the distribution of roles within the group.

The art of leadership is to engage informal groups to achieve the goal required by the organization as a whole. As a rule, the vast majority of people in the team prefer a conformist position or tacit agreement with the majority. Therefore, it makes sense to cooperate most closely with the person who is at this time.

It is important that the leader shows the group exactly how to act in a given situation. People learn from each other, and the efficiency of the entire team increases. Weak employees, following a strong leader, can show excellent results.

Man needs to communicate with his own kind. Most actively seek interaction with other people, and if two or more people spend enough time in close proximity to each other, they gradually become psychologically aware of each other's existence.

The time required for such awareness, and the degree of awareness, depends very much on the situation and on the nature of the relationship of people. However, the result of such awareness is almost always the same. The realization that others think of them and expect something from them causes people to change their behavior in some way, thereby confirming the existence of social relationships. When such a process occurs, a random gathering of people becomes a group.

Each of us belongs to many groups at the same time. We are members of several family groups: our immediate family, families of grandparents, cousins, relatives of a wife or husband, etc. Most people also belong to a few friend groups, a circle of people who see each other fairly regularly. Some groups prove short-lived and their mission is simple. When the mission is completed, or when the members of the group lose interest in it, the group breaks up. An example of such a group would be several students who come together to study for an upcoming exam. Other groups may exist for several years and have a significant impact on their members or even on the external environment. An example of such groups can be associations of teenage schoolchildren.

Merton (1968) defines a group as a collection of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to this group and are considered members of it from the point of view of other people.

The first essential feature of groups is a certain way of interaction between their members. These characteristic patterns of activity and interaction determine the structure of groups. There are different ways of interaction within groups, including such as a fraternity, a women's organization, a club, a tank crew in the army.

The second important feature of groups is membership, a sense of belonging to a given group. According to Merton, people who belong to groups are perceived by others as members of these groups. The group has its own identity from the point of view of outsiders.

Group identity is much more stable than one might think. If we meet a person and find out that he is a member of a religious group (for example, Jewish Christians) or an ethnic group (for example, a Russian of Greek origin), we usually assume that the group influences him and believe that his actions are carried out under pressure other members of the group. For example, if a Russian of Greek origin votes for a Greek as a candidate for any office, it seems to us that the group has put some pressure on him.

Despite the fact that this topic has been relevant lately, there is no canonized definition of a small group, since this is a rather flexible and subject to the influence of circumstances phenomenon.

The following definitions of a small group are known:

J. Homane: "A small group is a certain number of people interacting with each other for a certain time and small enough to be able to contact each other without intermediaries."

R. Merton: "A small group is a set of people who interact with each other in a certain way, are aware of their belonging to it and are considered members of this group from the point of view of others."

R. Bales: "A small group is a certain number of people actively interacting with each other during more than one face-to-face meeting, so that everyone gets a certain idea of ​​\u200b\u200ball the others, sufficient to distinguish each person personally, respond to him or during meeting, or later, remembering him.

The number of definitions of a small group in the literature is approaching one hundred. Upon acquaintance with them, their composite nature draws attention: as a rule, in each of them several signs of the phenomenon under study are combined.

Most often, scientists point to the following signs of a small group.

• 1. Limited number of group members. The upper limit is 20 people, the lower one is 2. If the group exceeds the "critical mass", then it breaks up into subgroups, cliques, factions. According to statistical calculations, most small groups include seven or fewer people.
• 2. The stability of the composition. A small group, unlike a large one, rests on the individual uniqueness and indispensability of the participants.
• 3. Internal structure. It includes a system of informal roles and statuses, a mechanism of social control, sanctions, norms and rules of conduct.
• 4. The number of links increases exponentially if the number of members increases arithmetic. In a group of three people, only four relationships are possible, in a group of four people - 11, and in a group of seven - 120 relationships.
• 5. The smaller the group, the more intense the interaction in it. The larger the group, the more often the relationship loses its personal character, formalizes and ceases to satisfy the members of the group. In a group of five, its members get more personal satisfaction than in a group of seven. A group of 5-7 people is considered optimal.
• 6. The size of the group depends on the nature of the group's activities. Financial committees of large banks, responsible for specific actions, usually consist of 6-7 people, and parliamentary committees, engaged in theoretical discussion of issues, include 14-15 people.
• 7. Belonging to a group is motivated by the hope of finding in it the satisfaction of personal needs. A small group, unlike a large one, satisfies the greatest number of vital human needs. If the amount of satisfaction received in the group falls below a certain level, the individual leaves it.
• 8. Interaction in a group is stable only when it is accompanied by mutual reinforcement of the people participating in it. The greater the individual contribution to the group's success, the more motivated others are to do the same. If one ceases to make the necessary contribution to meeting the needs of others, then he is expelled from the group.

A fairly general, well-established view of a small group is widely accepted as a relatively isolated association of two or more persons who are in a fairly stable interaction and carry out joint actions for a sufficiently long period of time. The interaction of group members is based on a certain common interest and may be associated with the achievement of a common goal. At the same time, the group has a certain group potential or group capabilities that allow it to interact with the environment and adapt to changes taking place in the environment.

At the same time, the group performs a number of important functions both from the point of view of the organization and from the point of view of the people associated with this group.

Purpose of groups from the point of view of the organization:

• distribution of work;
• work management and control over the progress of its implementation;
• problem solving and decision making;
• encouraging people to participate in decision making;
• collection, processing and transfer of information;
• implementation of coordination and communication;
• negotiation and/or conflict resolution;
• conducting research / studying past activities (accumulation of experience, competencies).

Assigning groups from the point of view of individuals:

• participation and assistance in joint activities;
• satisfaction of social needs;
• personality formation;
• getting help and support in achieving personal goals, even if personal goals do not coincide with the goals of the organization.

Traditionally, the following types of groups are distinguished:

Primary group - characterized by frequent direct personal contacts (family, team);

Secondary group - less frequent contacts and, as a rule, a large number (trade union, club of interests, company);

Member group - the group to which the person belongs;

Reference group - a group with which a person compares himself, analyzes his status.

Classification of groups is carried out according to various criteria, but the most common is the difference between formal groups created by the organization and informal groups arising on the basis of common interests. Both of these types of groups are important to the organization and have a great impact on the members of the organization.

Formal groups usually stand out as structural units in an organization. They have a formally appointed leader, a formally defined structure of roles, positions and positions within the group, as well as formally assigned functions and tasks. The essential difference between a formal group is that it is always created at the initiative of the administration and is included as a subdivision in the organizational structure and staffing of the enterprise. Formal groups are created at the behest of management and are therefore conservative to a certain extent, as they often depend on the personality of the leader and the people who are assigned to work in this group. But as soon as they are created, they immediately become a social environment in which people begin to interact with each other according to different laws, creating informal groups.

One of the main differences between proper formal groups is the period of their existence. Some groups are given a short lifespan, as they are formed to perform short-term tasks. An example of a temporary group is the members of one of the company's committees, who are tasked with implementing a certain program. General discussion of problems by members of the group takes place at meetings or meetings. In addition to temporary groups, the organization has long-term working groups whose members solve certain tasks as part of their job responsibilities. Such groups are usually called teams. They play a large role in modern organizations and are discussed in detail below.

A formal group has the following features:

• it is rational, i.e. it is based on the principle of expediency, conscious movement towards a known goal;
• it is impersonal, i.e. It is designed for individuals, relations between which are established according to a compiled program.

In a formal group, only official connections between individuals are provided, and it is subject only to functional goals. Formal groups may be formed to perform a regular function, such as accounting, or they may be created to solve a specific task, such as a commission to develop a project.

Behind the veil of formal relationships in every company, there is a more complex system of social relationships between many small informal groups.

informal groups are created not by executive orders and formal resolutions, but by members of the organization in accordance with their mutual sympathies and common interests.

Informal groups usually have their own unwritten rules and norms of behavior, people know well who is in their informal group and who is not. In informal groups, a certain distribution of roles and positions is formed. Usually these groups have an explicit or implicit leader. In many cases, informal groups can exert equal influence over their members, even more than formal structures.

Informal groups are a spontaneously (spontaneously) established system of social ties, norms, actions that are the product of more or less long-term interpersonal communication.

The informal group manifests itself in two varieties.

• 1. It is a non-formal organization in which non-formalized service relations have a functional (production) content and exist in parallel with the formal organization. For example, the optimal system of business connections that spontaneously develops between employees, some forms of rationalization and invention, methods of decision making, etc.
• 2. Represents a socio-psychological organization, acting in the form of interpersonal relationships that arise on the basis of the mutual interest of individuals in each other, out of connection with functional needs, i.e. a direct, spontaneously emerging community of people based on a personal choice of connections and associations between them (comradeship, amateur groups).

Now is the time to move from the concept of "group" to the more relevant concept of "team".

Team - a team where the problems of the group are understood and perceived by employees as personal.

Modern organizations require new approaches to leadership theory, where team work provides an optimal ratio of factors of production that contributes to the formation of predictable relationships between individuals, technologies, work tasks and resources. And whenever there is a need to unite the efforts of people, the positive results of their activities can only be achieved through one form or another of organization.

A team is a way of building an organization based on the real qualities of its employees. The organized joint activity of people is subject to general laws, regardless of the nature of the organization. Therefore, management theory often resorts to analogies, borrowing examples of effective management from the world of sports, politics or military life. The idea of ​​team work methods arose by analogy with sports teams. Often, coaches, explaining the success of a team made up of mediocre players, refer to the well-known saying: "Order beats class." It turned out that this is also true in relation to production groups, where one of the highest achievements of an effective leader is the creation of a cohesive team of like-minded people.

Team management (team work) is a way of mutual mobilization, when in a team they achieve much more than what they could do if they acted alone (Table 5.1). Consider in which situations it is preferable to work alone or in groups, and in which - in teams.

Table 5.1

Features of the use of individual-group and team forms of work organization

Work alone or in groups

Teamwork

1. For solving simple problems or puzzles. 2. When cooperation is enough. 3. When freedom of opinion is limited. 4. When the task is solved urgently. 5. When the range of competence is narrow enough. 6. If there is an irremediable conflict of interest of the participants 7. When the organization prefers to work with private loofs. 8. When you need an innovative result

1. To solve complex problems or "problems". 2. When consensus is needed for a decision. 3. When there is uncertainty and a plurality of solutions. 4. When high dedication is needed. 5. When a wide range of competencies is required. 6. If it is possible to achieve the goals of the team members. 7. When an organization prefers the results of teamwork to develop a forward-looking strategy. 8. When a Diversified Approach Is Necessary

The team is the foundation of the modern organization. You can characterize a team as a specific group. However, a team is more than a group. For a team, the main features are:

• it consists of two or more people;
• team members, in accordance with the role assigned to them, participate to the extent of their competence in the joint achievement of goals;
• the team has its own face, which does not coincide with the individual qualities of its members;
• the team is characterized by established ties both within it and with other teams and groups;
• the team has a clear, orderly and economical structure, focused on achieving goals and completing tasks; the team periodically evaluates its effectiveness;

Usually, the goals and objectives facing the team cannot be achieved by its individual members, due to limited time and resources, as well as the impossibility of having the necessary knowledge and qualifications alone.

Examples of sports teams or orchestras clearly confirm these provisions. Obviously, teams and groups are overlapping formations and there is no insurmountable difference between them. Each of them can be involved in the development of their members or organization, as well as managing the processes of change.

The processes of team building in organizations, due to their complexity, are difficult to study and purposefully manage, since in order to identify the true factors in the regulation of organizational behavior, it is necessary to penetrate into the deep layers of interpersonal relationships.

A special place is occupied by management teams and their formation. Experts in the field of highly effective management, organizational development and social psychology started talking about management teams and their creation in the 1960s and 1970s. 20th century The first studies of team activity were published in the early 1960s. They were devoted to finding ways to improve the efficiency and productivity of managerial work.

The emergence of interest in the team approach is also associated with trends in the development of organizations and high-performance management.

First of all, modern organizations have pronounced tendencies to complicate and increase their structural and functional composition, which requires the introduction of more effective organizational forms and methods of collective management, which would minimize the time for making a management decision and at the same time improve its quality, i.e. productivity, efficiency and timeliness. The situation can be resolved by creating a "tight-fitting" (well-formed) management team that improves the solution of large and interdisciplinary problems.

Secondly, almost all successfully developing and highly competitive firms and corporations, both in our country and abroad, build their development, both on the basis of meeting the needs of consumers of the present and the needs of tomorrow, creating departments of new technology, problem-promising laboratories, etc. Their successful functioning is based, in particular, on increasing the innovative abilities of the research group by creating a "field of ideas", an atmosphere of creative search, as well as a team of like-minded people who take responsibility for the prospects for the development of the organization together with the administration, which in fact is a manifestation of a team approach. in innovation management.

Thirdly, considering the performance of a manager as the performance of an organization that he leads or has an indirect impact on, the researchers note that a further increase in the productivity of managerial labor depends on the realization of the fact that a manager of any rank is associated with the creation of a collective product of labor. The belonging of an individual employee to the philosophy of the "common cause", i.e. the development of "team spirit" is of great importance as a motivating factor for improving the performance of the organization as a whole.

Understanding the rules of the team game by managers determines the quick and effective solution of such situations as the unclear distribution of responsibilities in the implementation of the project, increasing the motivation for engaging in objective activities and understanding the reasons for the low personal contribution of a particular group member, eliminating interpersonal friction and others in which there is a clash of personal motives and needs organizations.

Fourth, recognition of the very existence of the team approach is associated with the latest research in the field of organizational development and ideas about the latter as having a special culture, values, symbolic rituals. Corporate culture is one of the components of team management, as it is closely related to the symbolic ways of representing management activities. To improve the efficiency of the latter, it is of great importance, along with studies of existing organizational and structural forms, i.e. morphology of the organization, the study of the influence of the value aspect of the coexistence of members of management groups on the effectiveness of the organization.

Consider the stages of the team building process.

Team building in this case refers to the development from a formal management structure approved by the management into a working group with a "team" subculture. Researchers distinguish six stages of team development.

• 1. Adaptation. From the point of view of business activity, it is characterized as a stage of mutual information and analysis of tasks. At this stage, the members of the group search for the optimal way to solve the problem. Interpersonal interactions are cautious and lead to the formation of dyads, the stage of verification and dependence begins, which involves the orientation of group members regarding the nature of each other's actions and the search for mutually acceptable behavior in the group. Team members come together with a sense of alertness and compulsion. The performance of the team at this stage is low, as the members still do not know each other and are not sure about each other.
• 2. Grouping. This stage is characterized by the creation of associations (subgroups) according to sympathies and interests. Its instrumental content consists in the resistance of group members to the requirements imposed on them by the content of the task, due to the identification of a discrepancy between the personal motivation of individuals and the goals of group activity. There is an emotional response of group members to the requirements of the task, which leads to the formation of subgroups. When grouping, group self-awareness begins to take shape at the level of individual subgroups that form the first intragroup norms.

The features of the existence of groups at this stage are typical for working management groups with subcultures of the "clique" type. There is an association of all members of the subgroup around its leader, which can cause an uncritical perception of the latter by individual members of the group.

• 3. Cooperation. At this stage, there is an awareness of the desire to work on solving the problem. It is characterized by more open and constructive communication than in the previous stages, elements of group solidarity and cohesion appear. Here, for the first time, an established group appears with a distinctly expressed sense of "WE". The instrumental activity becomes the leading one at this stage, there is a good preparedness of the group members for its implementation, and organizational unity is developed. However, there are no sufficiently pronounced psychological connections in such a group. The features of the existence of groups at this stage are typical for working management groups with subcultures such as "circle" and "combine".
• 4. Rationing of activities. At this stage, the principles of group interaction are developed. The sphere of emotional activity becomes dominant, the importance of the "I-Thou" relationship increases sharply, personal relationships become especially close. One of the characteristic features of this stage of group development is the absence of intergroup activity. The process of isolation of a cohesive, well-prepared, united in organizational and psychological terms, a group can turn it into an autonomy group, which is characterized by isolation on its own goals, selfishness.
• 5. Functioning. From the point of view of business activity, it can be considered as a decision-making stage, characterized by constructive attempts to successfully solve the problem. The stage of functional-role correlation associated with the formation of the team's role structure, which is a kind of resonator through which the group task is played. The group is open to the manifestation and resolution of the conflict. A variety of styles and approaches to problem solving are recognized. At this stage, the group reaches the highest level of socio-psychological maturity, distinguished by a high level of preparedness, organizational and psychological unity, characteristic of a command subculture.
• 6. Disbandment. Sooner or later, the most successful groups, committees and project teams are disbanded, the intense social relations of their members gradually come to naught.

The process of developing groups in an organization. When studying the behavior of groups in organizations, three main questions arise:

• 1) on the mechanism for the formation of groups;
• 2) the reasons for the functioning of the group as a whole;
• 3) the reasons for the effectiveness of the group's activities.

The search for an answer to the first question led to the creation of a number of theoretical concepts, of which the concept of the American sociologist J. Homans turned out to be the most influential.

According to this concept, any social system, to which a social group in an organization certainly belongs, exists in a three-dimensional environment: physical (area, climate, material environment), cultural (norms, values ​​and goals) and technological (level of knowledge and skills). This combined environment has a certain impact on the interactions between the members of this system, causing the emergence of emotions and feelings (moods) in people in relation to each other and to the environment.

The emerging combination of actions, interactions and feelings (moods) is initially determined and directed by the environment, which is why it can be called an external system (in general, it corresponds to the concept of a formal structure). Actions, interactions and feelings are interdependent: the more members of the group communicate with each other, the more likely it is that positive feelings will arise, and the stronger the positive feelings, the more likely it is to increase the level of interactions.

However, the external system does not exist by itself. As the number of interactions increases, people form new feelings that are not prescribed by the external environment and do not directly depend on it, as well as new norms and new activities. Thus, a new system is created - an internal system (informal organization). Internal (informal) and external (formal) systems develop norms that determine how the life of these systems, methods of action, and attitudes should be organized.

Changes in the external environment produce changes in both the formal and informal working group. Ultimately, the activities and norms of the internal system will change the physical, cultural and technological environment. Group members, using informal methods to solve production problems, can generate new ideas in the field of technology, develop new norms of relationships between employees and managers. For example, the introduction by members of the group of their own control over product quality, which was previously carried out by line managers, will inevitably lead to a change in the relationship between these groups of members of the organization.

Homans' concept of group behavior distinguishes between mandatory and unexpected behavior. So, if in the process of activity it is necessary to perform certain actions, they are necessarily accompanied by appropriate interactions and the appearance of a feeling about these working actions. For example, an employee of the sales department established contact with a client, agreed with him to sell a batch of computers, entered into certain relations with him - provided information about the parameters and technical characteristics of computers. Further, the relationship "buyer - seller" can develop on the basis of a sense of trust, anxiety, anxiety, etc. The obligatory nature of such behavior is due to the fulfillment of role requirements and is most closely related to the achievement of the goals of the participants in the interaction. However, in the process of selling computers, the sales staff may be involved in a different activity that evokes different kinds of interactions and sentiments. In particular, the seller may be interested in the lifestyle of buyers, their attitudes, feel sympathy or antipathy for individual customers, distinguishing them from others; respond to jokes, rudeness, stupidity or, conversely, the politeness of customers not as a member of the organization, but simply as a person. Obviously, such behavior of a member of the organization cannot be predicted by those who give him tasks and control actions.

Stages of group development in an organization. The effectiveness of the activities of formal and informal groups largely depends on the stage of development they are at. For example, one of the departments of the organization consists of two internally heterogeneous informal groups: the first includes employees of the department who worked under the previous leadership and adhere to certain traditions; the second includes new members of the group who did not have time to accept the traditions of the corporate culture and cannot establish interaction with the first part of the group. In this case, a conflict is possible between the two groups of the department and it takes time to establish common for all members of the department activity standards within the organization. This example proves that groups in an organization can be at different stages of their development.

According to the concept of B. Tuckman and M. Jensen, groups go through five clearly defined stages of development: 1) the stage of the emergence of the group, 2) the stage of conflict, 3) the stage of accepting group norms, 4) the stage of execution and 5) the stage of interruption of activity. The process of group development and transition from one stage to another can be slow, not all groups go through the listed stages, some of them remain at medium levels, which makes the group's activities ineffective.

• 1. The stage of the emergence of a group is characterized by the establishment of initial contacts between members of the group and the search for ingroups and primary groups to deepen intragroup interaction. During this period, each member of the group finds out what values ​​are accepted in this environment, what attitudes and moods dominate. In addition, the primary norms of communication are established. Members of the group determine their place in the system of relationships and try to make a proper impression on others (demonstrating their qualities and personal resources). In the field of interpersonal relationships at this stage, much depends on the leader, since most members of the group experience a feeling of uncertainty and uncertainty, they need guidelines in the social and psychological space of the group, which the leader represents, defining the primary rules of behavior.
• 2. The conflict stage, or the stage of self-affirmation, is the most unpleasant period of group development for the organization's activities. Having formed primary groups, its members try to assert themselves in their roles, expand the boundaries of their own significance, determine the relationship of interdependence and intra-group hierarchy. Actions to achieve these goals can cause a blockade of the needs of other members of the group and the manifestation of aggression, which in turn leads to interpersonal conflicts. Individuals reveal their personal aspirations, as a result of which hostility inevitably arises, which manifests itself in the subsequent conflict when attempts are made to control by other members of the group, attempts to stand out from others, etc. In the course of the conflict, the primary relations formed at the previous stage of group development may be violated. At the second stage of development, the key aspects of creating normal interpersonal relationships within the group can be considered conflict management in the direction of reaching a compromise and orienting the efforts of group members towards achieving common goals.
• 3. The stage of norm formation and adoption of norms. At this stage, the main attention is paid to the organization of the process of production of the product, the development of technologies. In the course of doing the work of group members, closer relationships and a sense of camaraderie develop. The main issues are the functional involvement in the production process of the product: who, what, where and how will do in order to achieve common goals. Based on the norms of behavior and the distribution of role responsibilities, rules for joint activities are developed and adopted. Thus, a functional structure is created in the group, in which each member of the group can establish personal contact with other members. As a result of this, a system of conciliatory role expectations of group members arises in relation to each other, and the inability of individual members of the group to meet the set expectations is also fixed. Interpersonal relationships within the group are focused on increasing cohesion. Members of the group feel that the conflict relationship is overcome, and experience a sense of belonging to the group. At this stage, contacts are established with other social groups in the organization, the volume of information coming to the members of the group increases, the members of the group become more open.
• 4. Executive stage. By the beginning of this stage, the group has already established an effective working structure, and the actual fulfillment of the goals and objectives becomes its main concern. Thus, a fully developed group functions at this stage. But not all groups in their development reach this stage, some of them "get stuck" in the early stages, which are less productive from the point of view of the product production process in the organization. Interpersonal relationships at this stage are characterized by interdependence, mutual trust and mutual assistance. Group members are willing to work alone, in subgroups and as part of the whole group as a whole unit. Functional competition and cooperation arise between them, there is an understanding of the significance of group goals, a sense of obligation. In general, the work of the group at this stage can be characterized as an activity aimed at solving the problems of the organization.
• 5. The interruption stage is the final stage in the development of the group, which threatens the group with disbandment, both because of the impossibility of achieving group goals, and because of the departure of its members. Ultimately, each group sooner or later comes to such a line. Usually in this case, the management of the organization begins to form a new team, adjusts group goals. The group development process begins again.

The considered group development model has been verified in the course of numerous studies and allows us to explain many problems associated with the work of groups in an organization. In particular, if the group is working at only half its potential, then this is probably because some problems in the earlier stages of group development have not been fully worked out, such as the leadership problem, the goal is not clearly defined, the tasks are not agreed upon (while the members groups can use group activities to achieve personal goals).

Factors affecting group cohesion in an organization. In order to improve the performance of teams in an organization, its leaders must consider many factors. For example, in order to eliminate the feeling of frustration among members of social groups, they should take into account the needs of individuals, ensure the maintenance of a high level of identification in the group and group cohesion. The level of group cohesion is significantly influenced by a large number of factors.

Among the so-called internal factors, group cohesion is most influenced by those factors that are associated with group membership, i.e. with the conditions for including an individual in a group: the size of the group (as a rule, small groups have more opportunities to create a cohesive team), the constancy of the composition of the group, psychological compatibility, but most importantly, the identification of each member of the group with the group, a highly developed sense of ingroup.

In addition to internal factors, there are external factors that affect the level of cohesion, of which the working environment of the group should be considered the most significant, i.e. the type and complexity of goals-tasks, which are presented in the form of tasks to be solved, the physical environment of the group (working conditions, place of work, spatial differentiation of group members, etc.), communication system in the group, technology.

Factors contributing to group cohesion:

• coincidence of interests, views, values ​​and orientation of group members;
• a sufficient level of homogeneity in the composition of groups (especially in terms of age - it is undesirable to combine people over 50 and under 18 in one group);
• atmosphere of psychological safety, goodwill, acceptance;
• active, emotionally rich joint activity aimed at achieving a goal that is significant for all participants;
• the attractiveness of the leader as a model, model of an optimally functioning participant;
• qualified work of the leader, who uses special psychotechnical techniques and exercises to strengthen cohesion;
• the presence of another group that can be seen as rival in some respect;
• the presence in the group of a person who is able to oppose himself to a group that is sharply different from the majority of participants (as the sad experience of not only trainings, but also everyday life shows, people unite especially quickly not in the struggle for something, but in the struggle against someone).

The reasons for the decrease in group cohesion can be:

• the emergence of small subgroups in the training group (this is especially likely in groups exceeding 15 people; however, sometimes a kind of competition that appears between subgroups accelerates group dynamics and helps to optimize training); acquaintance (friendship, sympathy) between individual members of the group before the start of the training - this leads to hiding some private information from the rest of the group members, to the desire to protect each other and not to engage in polemics, to the alienation of such a dyad from the group;
• inept leadership on the part of the leader, which can lead to excessive tension, conflicts and the collapse of the group;
• lack of a single goal that captivates and unites participants, and joint activities organized by the leader; sluggish group dynamics.

Cohesion determines the success of the work, if only because it makes the group more resistant to situations accompanied by negative emotional experiences, helps to overcome developmental crises. In some cases, achieving high group cohesion becomes the most important goal of psychological training (it is not always advisable to inform participants about this). Cohesion trainings, team building are carried out in organizations and institutions, whose effective activity directly depends on the degree of unity and mutual understanding of employees.